Lahiri soaks in atmosphere, to pair with Westwood, Jimenez

Augusta: Anirban Lahiri is going the full distance in terms of preparation and soaking in the atmosphere as he plays the pre-event traditional Par-3 which opens the official action at the Masters each year here.

Lahiri, who has played the Augusta National on each of the past three days alongside different players, has got a taste of the famous greens with 18 holes on Sunday, nine on the front stretch yesterday and another nine on the back stretch today.

Now it is time for the Par-3 contest before the actual show gets underway on Thursday.

Lahiri will have a sense of comfort as he has been paired for the first two rounds alongside Englishman Lee Westwood and Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez.

The pairing would also bring a whole lot of positive memories for the 27-year-old Indian, who played alongside Westwood in the final round of the Malaysian Open and then he played the first two rounds with Jimenez at the Hero Indian Open.

Lahiri won both the events and rose into the top 50 in the world. Currently number 34 in the world, Lahiri is likely to play all four Majors and WGC, which could also give him a chance to gain a status on the coveted PGA Tour.

Commenting on his pairings for the first two days, Lahiri said, "Both Lee (Westwood) and Miguel (Jimenez) are experienced stars and I have known them. They are great fun and very encouraging. I played the final round of Malaysian Open with Lee and the first two rounds of the Hero Indian Open with Miguel. Both those events have great memories for me."

Lahiri has played with former Masters winner Vijay Singh, picked the brains of three-time winner Nick Faldo and today played alongside world number 15 and four-time winner on PGA Tour, Patrick Reed. Armed with the knowledge gleaned over past three days, he is now ready for the big battle.